The present invention relates to a belt-drive tape cartridge and a reproducing apparatus adapted to same.
Referring to FIG. 12, a belt-drive tape cartridge (refer hereafter to as "data cartridge") 201 comprises a base plate 202 having a front end face 202a, and a drive roller 203 arranged at the front end face 202a and in a center position Cl.sub.1 of the base plate 202 as viewed in the cross direction. The base plate 202 has beside the drive roller 203 a recess 204 for receiving a magnetic head. A first tape guide 205 is arranged on one side of the recess 204 near a corner of the base plate 202, and a second tape guide 206 is arranged on another side of the recess 204 substantially in the center of the base plate 202 and adjacent to the drive roller 203.
The first tape guide 205 includes flanges 205a at the upper and lower ends thereof. The second tape guide 206, which does not include any flange at the upper and lower ends thereof, is formed like a straight pin with the diameter smaller than that of the first tape guide 205.
A reproducing apparatus 301 adapted to the data cartridge 201 comprises a drive capstan roller 303 at an inner end of a cartridge compartment 302 and in a center position Cl.sub.2 thereof as viewed in the cross direction, and a magnetic head 304 arranged beside the drive capstan roller 303.
Referring to FIG. 13, when inserting the data cartridge 201 into the cartridge compartment 302 of the reproducing apparatus 301, the drive roller 203 and the drive capstan roller 303 contact each other with rotation axes aligned in the cartridge inserting direction. The magnetic head 304 introduced into the recess 204 of data cartridge 201 contacts a magnetic tape 207 thereof.
Rotation of the drive capstan roller 303 is transmitted to the drive roller 203 to rotate a drive belt 208 of the data cartridge 201, running the magnetic tape 207.
However, the conventional data cartridge 201 has the following inconveniences since the first tape guide 205 arranged on one side of the recess 204 is of the type having the flanges 205a at the upper and lower ends thereof, whereas the second tape guide 206 arranged on another side of the recess 204 is of the type having no flange and formed like a straight pin with the diameter smaller than that of the first tape guide 205:
First, on one side of the recess 204, vertical movement or off-track of the magnetic tape 207 can be restrained by the flanges 205a of the first tape guide 205 arranged at the upper and lower ends thereof, whereas, on another side of the recess 204, such off-track cannot be restrained due to the use of the straight-pin-like tape guide 206.
Restrained off-track of the magnetic tape 207 on another side of the recess 204 can be achieved by adopting as the second tape guide 206 a flanged tape guide similar to the first tape guide 205. However, if the second tape guide 206 is of the flanged type, it will contact the drive roller 203.
Second, in view of the fact that the second tape guide 206 is smaller in diameter than the first tape guide 205, if the data cartridge 201 is left inserted in the cartridge compartment 302 of the reproducing apparatus 30 during a long period of time as shown in FIG. 13, part of the magnetic tape 207 contacting the second tape guide 206 undergoes a great pressure, resulting in possible occurrence of bent streaks or pressing marks thereon.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a data cartridge with restrained occurrence of off-track of a magnetic tape and bent streaks thereon. Another object of the present invention is to provide a reproducing apparatus adapted to the above data cartridge.